


A Kiss From Death

by LadyKnight28



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: F/M, Heterosexual Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:00:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24339286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnight28/pseuds/LadyKnight28
Summary: Rogue Scientists and Researchers of the Umbrella Corporation have started to become an endemic to the company.The unforeseen problem after these employees are executed is the family members they leave behind, previously thought to be of no consequence, become troublesome.One certain deceased researcher's daughter starts to look for answers and becomes a nuisance to the company. After a few botched attempts to end her life, The Umbrella Security Team decides to send in their finest to complete the job, with a 100% guaranteed success rate.However , Mr Death starts to feel conflicted about killing his target when she reminds him of himself. The two fall into an unlikely romance and navigate the challenges of being devoted to their life paths while feeling for each other strongly.
Relationships: HUNK (Resident Evil)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Death Dash

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction is largely an ode to my roleplaying on myspace days, way back when. Over the five years I roleplayed, my original character set in the Resident Evil universe paired with a HUNK roleplayer, and it was a good time. This is a loose novelization of that arc. Its also a beacon for those who might recognize the original character and roleplayed with me. Cheers.

_Why didn’t you finish the job _  
  
“Attention! Security Breach on Level Two. Sealing Doors. Attention! Security Breach on Level Two. Sealing Doors. Attention!”  
  
The toneless voice alert system echoed through-out the monotonous pewter halls. It repeated itself over and over again, sending its warning audio waves to all in the vicinity. Boots clicked loudly over the shiny floor, rapidly sprinting through the hallway. The boots belonged to a runner, who was frantically trying to find a way out of the maze. The sounds of the pressure system on the vault doors were heard loudly in all directions, threatening to seal the only means of exit for the unwelcome guest. The runner came to an intersection of four argent hallways. Panicked eyes looked at all their available options, unsure which direction to take. Time to make an informed decision had long passed, for the doors were about to seal shut, and the runner would be trapped. It was lucky that when the runner looked to their left, they saw an unattended cart with very few items on it. The runner sprinted towards the cart and grabbed a hold of it, pushing it like a shopping cart in a grocery store, except only they weren’t stopping for any groceries. The vault door ahead was about to close shut. The runner reamed the cart underneath the closing door, causing a temporary wedge that slowed the door down. The runner knew that the crushing pressure of the heavy door would eventually break the cart so they had to move fast.  
  
When the runner made it to the other side, they looked back at the cart , just as it was about to be snapped in half. The steel vault door came down hard on the silver cart. A deafening, screeching sound of metal collapsing under metal was heard and it stung the runner’s ear drums with jarring pain. They stepped away while cupping their ears. The horrific sound ended abruptly and they dropped their hands. The runner turned around to see they had stumbled into a stairwell. They started to waltz up the steps, catching their breath as they did so, silently celebrating their escape from the second floor’s security measures. The runner knew they didn’t have much time until they were found by other means and that cut their triumphant pat on the back short. They quickened their pace up the stairs. It was time to get out of here, even if they were empty handed. The runner made it to floor one’s door from the stairwell and hesitated going back the way they had come. They had snuck in using a key card they had stolen from a scientist they ambushed in the parking lot of the towns local “Library”. Surely there would be armed personnel waiting for them on the other side by now. The runner retreated a few steps and turned their attention to further up the well. Their mind was made up to try and make it to the roof. The runner experienced a burst of revitalized energy and began dashing up the stairs. The door opened to the Library’s roof. The runner couldn’t even pause long enough to make light of the irony that there was a hidden laboratory underneath a seemingly benign looking library.  
  
“Confidential files on your father, level two under speculative non-fiction.” The runner said aloud to themselves, wanting a moment of comedic reprieve as they walked towards the edge of the roof. They were pretty high up from the pavement below. At least they weren’t about to walk into a firefight that was likely waiting for them had they chosen go through level one again. The runner had dropped their hand gun back on level two, so they knew they wouldn’t have stood a chance in hell. They peered over the edge. They couldn’t jump, for that was certain death. The runner could climb down though. Years of training in rock climbing gyms peppered around the north eastern United states was about to pay off. Hopping over the edge, the runner grabbed the brick lining and let their feet fall over. The nearest window had a small ledge they could grip onto. The runner shimmied over slowly and let their foot find the window ledge first. They reached down with one hand and grabbed the ledge in a half crouch. Once they felt stable, they let the other foot find the ledge and then the other hand. They didn’t hover in that imbalanced crouch for long. They gripped the ledge and swung their legs over and looked for the next window ledge. They scaled that way, all the way down the wall until their feet were flat on the pavement below. The runner took off into the darkness, leaving the scene. The runner was actually smiling to themselves, seemingly pleased with their flawless escape.  
  
However, the whipping sounds of a helicopter’s blades entered into their hearing range. The runner slowed down, turned and looked up above and saw a helicopter come into view, hovering not far from them. The runner’s eyes widened. They had a new problem. The runner took off into another dash, trying to evade death. _  
_16 hours earlier  
  
“This one is becoming a problem.”  
  
A male voice said. He sat in a black swivel chair, dressed in a dark, navy blue suit. He was in a dark oval room, that projected an image onto a screen. His expensive, golden watch adorned his right hand as he clicked through a PowerPoint presentation of a recent Umbrella security report. His eyes were an intoxicating green, and they were intensely focused on the material before him. His dark hair was neatly parted to one side, and skin was relatively free of blemishes. He was an affluent Umbrella executive in charge of meeting with the Umbrella security team head once a month to go over security breaches and plans of containment. He was in his mid-thirties, but appeared in his late twenties due to the lavish wellness amenities his money could afford. The data report showed a few breaches of North American facilities, but all breaches were handled on site via termination of the intruders. Save one. The PowerPoint showed fuzzy images of a blonde, athletic woman caught breaking into a facility in Maryland. The photo stills showed blurry depictions of her dashing through a hallway with something in hand.  
  
“The security footage confirms this is a repeat offender. If true, this is their third infiltration and looks like they got something this time. Do we have any information on who this is and how they keep finding our locations?” The executive asked in a cool manner. His face could be that of a calm serpent, alluring but threatening. He turned his emerald, serpentine gaze to the head of Umbrella security who shared the room with him. The exec had a name, but he rarely shared it with anyone who answered to him, except for the head of Umbrella security. The executive’s name was Bryson Maddox and he wanted answers.  
  
“Its hard to identify them due to the poor imaging, however we have a strong suspicion on who it is based on what they stole.” A direct, older male voice said. The head of Umbrella security sat opposite of Bryson Maddox. “A file and disc on Trevor Glade, a rogue researcher was stolen. We believe the one who stole it is his daughter, Alexis Glade. She fits the description from those who saw her.” The security head said calmly. Bryson nodded once and folded his arms.  
  
“Well, what’s the issue?” He asked, a slight wisp of detectable impatience glazed his words. The security head smirked softly at the young man’s failure to grasp that if the opportunity for her to be killed was there, she would have been already.  
  
“We do not know where she is. She is well hidden. The last trace of Alexis Glade was graduation from a boarding school for gifted orphans. She was a ward of the owner. They don’t know where she went after she turned eighteen, and that was several years ago. It would appear Miss Glade does not want to be found. “The security head stated. He watched Bryson shift in his chair. The security head knew that wasn’t a good enough answer, but he thankfully had a plan to share for this stuck up bastard.  
  
“However, we have developed a strategy to catch her. She has hit the New York City site, the Boston Site, and just recently the one in rural Maryland. She is operating out of the New England area, so the only reasonable place to hit next would be the one in Providence, Rhode Island. Her father was mainly stationed in the one Maryland, but split time between the other New England sites. So, it’s a reasonable conclusion that she will be hitting this next site in the next couple weeks or days. We are going to bait her inside and trap her, and the goal is to catch her alive for questioning to see if she has talked to anyone. We have it set up that infiltration will be rather easy and will easily goad her inside” He said and noticed a small look of approval creep across Bryson Maddox’s face.  
  
“Do we have a motive as to why she is doing this? You mentioned she is an orphan and her father a researcher? I think I can guess.” Bryson said sardonically. The security head nodded and tapped his fingers on the meeting table.  
  
“Her father was a rogue researcher. He was preparing to go public. He was assassinated in his home and his personal electronics destroyed in nineteen ninety-seven. Alexis would have been a teenager. The report said she was in the home when it happened, but she was sleeping so she was spared.” The security head informed him.  
  
“Couldn’t have shipped the brat off to Rockfort?” Bryson suggested, but the security head knew he was kidding. They both knew Rockfort was a washed up joint even back then. The Ashford family was no longer of prominent standing had let the island go to shit. They shared a short, forced laugh.  
  
“We have a contingency plan set up if the Providence site can’t contain her. It would seem that on her first site breach, she ended up getting into a fight with two other guards and she actually bested them. It would appear we have a child who is coming back with some vengeance. Not taking any more chances because I certainly don’t want to have to report on her again, I have tasked one of our top agents, Hunk, to capture Miss Glade and bring her in for questioning.”  
  
“Hunk? Really? That’s an expensive use of resources for something so trivial as this nosy insect don’t you think?” Bryson asked to which the security head shook his head, disagreeing.  
  
“We need to make sure she doesn’t get another chance to run free again. We are currently blessed with a gracious limbo where the public is unconvinced that Raccoon City’s mishaps are the result of Umbrella’s blunders.” The security head said. He paused to let that sink in and continued. “We can’t let anyone go public once they have found something. Luckily what she stole doesn’t contain anything sensitive, but she will be back for more, and we will get her this time.”  
  
Bryson, satisfied, clicked out of the report. The screen in front of them turned off. There were no more security threats to speak about for Alexis Glade was the only persistent one to North American operations. The room’s lights came back on. Bryson stood up and smoothed out the creases of his suit.  
  
“I surely hope you are right my friend. Don’t forget, Umbrella’s blunders in Raccoon city were because a certain security team didn’t handle a situation perfectly. Hunk was on that team I recall.” He said with a jab. The security head regarded him with a respectful look, but underneath his skin he was silently seething from such a comment. The security head finally smiled and stood up as well.  
  
“With all due respect, He retrieved the sample as he was instructed to. He didn’t fail. Perhaps we should do more background checks on our scientists that we hire into the company. You know, ones that won’t inject themselves with their own product and attack security members or perhaps ones that won’t go rogue and then we have to deal with their family members years down the line.” The security head said curtly. The audacity to speak ill of Mr. Death, even if just a hint, was an unacceptable action. A tight smile spread across Bryson’s face. The two men didn’t shake hands. They simply nodded at each other.  
  
“See you next month” Bryson said politely, although strained, and exited the office. The security head sighed and sat back down. Umbrella’s blunders were because they were doing unnatural shit but that wasn’t his place to judge. He liked the money and he liked being a part of something as monumental as the Umbrella corporation. He pulled out his cellphone. He most importantly did not want to fail. He dialed the number to the top operative, Hunk, to go over the mission parameters one more time. Alexis Glade needed to be caught.  
  
Evening started to fall. The last rays of sunlight peaked through blinds of a simple apartment bedroom. Umbrella’s top security operative, code named Hunk, occupied the bedroom. It was his sanctuary in an undisclosed location. Hunk stood for Human Unit Never Killed. The human unit never killed bared numerous scars though, and they were reminders to how close to death he had come many times before. He leaned his head against his bedpost. Droplets of shower water clung to his freshly cleaned skin. He was sitting up in his bed, quietly zoning out. It was his own form of meditation. He sat with only a towel that covered his waist down to his thighs. He was middle aged, almost forty, and in incredible shape. Droplets of water from his short, dark blonde hair dripped over the bridge of his nose, but he barely noticed. He was breathing deeply with his eyes closed. Although he never thought of himself as some kind of god, he knew his marksmanship, athletics and experience afforded him opportunities in this world that were not open to others. He had a high success rate with all his missions, and that had earned him a positive reputation throughout the company. He was considered a high performing operative of the Umbrella security team for a reason. Tonight started like any other night before a mission, and he was in the mental preparation stage.  
  
He had been briefed on the parameters more than once from the Umbrella security head. Target was Alexis Glade, daughter of deceased Umbrella virology researcher Trevor Glade. Trevor glade was executed roughly one year before the Raccoon city incident, with the intention to go public about the creation of the T-virus and its potential uses as a weapon. Target is expected to have some kind of informal, unexplained combat training, encompassing firearms and Close quarter combat. Target is above average athletic and mysteriously has working knowledge of general facility layouts. Target is to be taken alive for questioning. If target gets too far outside of mission parameters, then the target is to be killed promptly and the body recovered. He had seen the photos and video of the target, albeit fuzzy and blurry. The target had infiltrated the New York City facility and had actually engaged in combat with two Umbrella security guards and had managed to subdue them and escape. She was seen using a firearm to facilitate her escape from the Boston and Maryland Facilities. Target was expected to hit the Providence facility in the next 24 hours to two weeks, and he was to be deployed to the site on stand by to assist with her capture.  
  
Children of executed Umbrella employees coming back with a vengeance was not something new to the company. They usually were shipped to his old training grounds on Rockfort Island to be kept as prisoners or worse, experiment fodder. That wasn’t always the case though. Sometimes the issue with problematic family members solved themselves. Some have tried to break into facilities and got themselves killed in the process. Others that were gathering to go public had and then were dismissed as hacks by cleverly engineered social plants which drove them to give up or commit suicide. This was the first time, at least for him hearing of it, of a problem child who had grown up and became a consistent security threat. He figured that’s why they had him get involved, because she was a tough target to contain. He found her tenacity to survive against a conglomerate like Umbrella very impressive. There were definitely several people Umbrella had made orphans out of that didn’t even bother trying to stick it to the company. Alexis Glade had managed to break in three times, actually steal something, and hold her own against seasoned guards. As for what she stole, that was predictable. It was a file on her father. He found himself thinking of her of as a real fighter in this world, someone like him. Her motives weren’t for herself, and it wasn’t for money. She had nothing to gain other than the truth and closure and that was a truly gritty thing to fight for. He could think of no other reason why she would keep trying her luck like she has been. He found it strange he was thinking of is target this way so he stopped.  
  
He glanced over at the time on his digital alarm clock. The helicopter coming to pick him up and fly him to the Providence Umbrella facility would be at the pick up point soon and he needed to get there, in gear. He glanced over at his outfit set up neatly, complete with a gas mask, on a desk. His boots were polished, his black gear didn’t have a speck on them, and the red plastic eyes of his gas mask were wiped clean of any dust or dirt. Ever since he wore that mask back in 1998 to protect from gas or aerosolized viral particles, he had decided to never go on a mission with out it ever again. He also valued that not many people knew what he looked like, and he preferred to keep it that way. He rose from his bed, gripping the towel around him. He waltzed over to his gear and stared intently at his gas mask, his reflection looking back at him from the red optic circles. He shifted to the proper mindset one should have before a mission and started to get dressed.  
  
  
Alexis Glade was tired from running, but she knew she couldn’t stop. If she wanted to live, she had to keep going. A survivor kept going, no matter what the odds were. She sprinted down a dark Providence alley, dying for some water or just a deep breath of air. The city was compact, and had a very organic grid that didn’t follow any type of pre-planned construction. In other words, any time she turned a corner, she had no idea where she was going to end up. She felt confident she had put some distance between herself and the underground Umbrella facility that rested below The Providence Athenaeum. It was a gorgeous library and if her life were a little simpler, she would have been able to enjoy it. However, her life was not anywhere near simple or safe for that matter. She thought she had gotten away, but the sounds of the helicopter behind her let her know her dash wasn’t done yet.  
  
The past two months had been very eventful. She had successfully breached the facility under New York City. It was the first time she had ever experienced such a rush. The adrenaline was accompanied with a healthy dose of fear because she knew the odds of pulling it off were not on her side. She remembered when she turned that fateful corner, the two of them were there. They had saw her, and she knew if she had run from them, they would have just filled her with bullet holes. She had closed the distance, violently kicking one the nearest guard in their knee cap that resulted him in doubling over, of which she delivered a powerful upper cut to his chin. When he dropped, the other was fumbling with this large assault rifle that was not going to help him with close combat. She had rushed in, knocking the gun point towards the ceiling, to which he fired a few rounds. She kneed him right in his junk, to which he also doubled over. She delivered another sharp knee to his face and it was lights out for that guy. Luckily, her subsequent break-ins hadn’t involved any more close combat encounters, just some fire fights that were short and took place in winding hallways that had cover. She had been so happy to find that file on her father at the Maryland site. The disappointing thing was it didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know. It was a risky move to go get something like that, and it end up being a fruitless endeavor, but then again, all these attempts were like that. You couldn’t have known unless you tried.  
  
The athletic woman turned a corner, trying to lose the helicopter. She ended up in another dark alley. Her blonde hair had come undone from her braid and was sticking to her cheeks and neck from sweat. She ducked underneath a grated, emergency stair case that adorned the side of an apartment building. She hoped the coming of night would aid her in hiding. She was spent, and knew she couldn’t keep this up for much longer. She heard the helicopter sail overhead, passing her alley and getting further away. She waited a minute or two to see if the chopper would return, as well as savor a chance to catch her breath. She was bent over with her hands on her knees. When she didn’t hear the helicopter come back, she felt it was safe to leave from her cover. As soon as she stepped out from her cover, the sound of bullets hitting the grated stairs erupted around her. She felt the air whoosh to the side of her. She was just standing there a second ago and if she had been any slower, she would have been dead.  
  
_Run. NOW _  
  
Her instincts told her to get moving and she did. She was dead tired in her legs, but she moved anyway. She ran out on the street from the alley way she had just come from. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much energy left and she couldn’t keep the same pace as before. She felt herself moving slow and a dark trepidation washed over her. She knew she was in a position to get picked off now and despite her willingness to keep moving, she didn’t know where the shooter was. She was a slow-moving duck. Her eyes darted around to look for a new hiding spot. She saw a new alley way to veer into. She was almost there when she heard the gun shots again. She immediately felt a very painful, burning sensation pierce her right calf. She was sent careening into the alley way she was heading towards, for she wasn’t able to control her legs anymore. Her face skidded on the dirty, cold asphalt of the alley way, scraping her right cheek. Her palms had braced for impact and received the same treatment. She tried to get up, but could not. Her calf was spasming in pain, and that became her main focus. She had never been shot before, but she knew without looking at the source of her pain that that’s what had just happened to her. The only thing she could do was do a slow crawl to safety. She could pull herself towards the garbage dumpster in front of her, and hide. All she had to do was get there. She heard quick footsteps coming down the street. The shooter was coming for her, and she needed to hide or it was all over. Alexis Glade pulled herself inches at a time across the alley asphalt as best she could, but it simply wasn’t enough. She heard the shooter enter the alley way. Their running steps had now turned to slow methodical steps. She heard the metallic click of a gun being trained on her. Alexis turned over on her back to face them. She might as well get a look at what was sent to smite her off the planet. Her eyes met dual red optics, glinting from a facial gas mask that was peering over her. The figure in front of her was dressed in a dark black, tactical suit. They took slow steps towards her, their hand gun raised and pointed towards her.  
  
_Not without a fight… ___  
  
She started to scoot herself away the best she could from her encroaching grim reaper. They looked the part for sure and it didn’t help her out to know that this might be the last thing she sees. She saw a metal trash can lid start to become within reach. She picked it up and threw it at the figure with all her might, which wasn’t much at this point. The figure dodged it with ease and still advanced with their weapon fixed on her. She was starting to feel woozy. She looked down and saw the trail of bright crimson liquid seeping from her navy-blue pants. Her vision was starting to blur and the pain wasn’t subsiding. The figure stopped when they had reached her feet. She didn’t have the strength to kick them away. She couldn’t sit up anymore. She fell back from exhaustion.  
  
“You bastards win.” She managed to say, albeit hoarsely.  
  
The last thing she saw was the gas masked figure crouching over her, and then her world went black.____


	2. Death Delayed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk makes a choice to spare his target's life.

Hunk side stepped with ease when his target threw the metal trash can lid at him. It was a feeble attempt to deter him, but a last act of defiance.  
  
_A fighter to the end _  
  
He continued to take steps towards her with his hand gun trained on her. She exhibited every attribute of an exhausted human being. The bullet he had put in her right calf surely wasn’t helping her either. He knew she couldn’t fight anymore even though he could feel that she wanted to. Her eyes did not betray her and it showed him what she was made of. He was, once again, impressed. She was even still attempting to get away. His orders were to bring her in alive and deliver her to his boss, the head of Umbrella security.  
He found himself not wanting to do that.  
  
He watched her start to lose consciousness. She was losing quite a bit of blood. He wanted to give her a chance to fight another day and he couldn’t explain it to himself why. He raised his hand to his face. A radio device was fastened on his wrist. He cued into his communications link with the helicopter pilot.  
  
“Target escaped. I will recon to see if I can establish a trace.” Hunk lied. He heard the radio static fuzz come in and then cleared.  
  
“Copy that. Rendezvous at extraction point in one hour.” The pilot transmitted back. Hunk let his hand drop. He stared at the now unconscious Alexis Glade for a moment and then proceeded to pick her up. He carried her through the dark alley way and stepped out on the dark street. He had to find a covert place to take her and treat her wound if he wanted to be of any help and he needed to do it fast.__

She heard a voice calling her name but she couldn’t place who it was. It was distant at first but gradually got louder. It was liking trying to hear through a waterfall or a sheet of thick glass. She felt herself slowly returning to consciousness and becoming aware of a stinging, thumping pain in her right calf. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself on a cot. Her right leg had been bandaged and propped up over the metallic railing of the cot. The bandages were spotted with her red blood, but was not soaking through. For the time being, her bleeding was contained. She was very thirsty and she cleared her dry throat a couple of times to coat it with her saliva. She groaned a bit in pain and shifted in the cot. She had no idea where she was but she also became quickly aware that she wasn’t alone. She remembered who she saw had saw last and was shocked to see them standing in the corner of the room.  
  
“You….” She said hoarsely and started to sit up. She winced in pain and stopped trying to sit up. The gas masked figure stepped closer to her and she reached for her hand gun on her side holster but felt it wasn’t there. It all came rushing back. She had dropped it at the facility, on level two when she had been running. Her heart started to thump in her chest a little harder. This was bad.  
  
“You are awake.” Gas mask said, in a calm male voice. She started to piece together that he was the reason she was bandaged up and resting on a cot. It didn’t make sense. He was the one that shot her. She didn’t have the energy to argue or engage in heated banter, but she had to question the situation.  
  
“Why?” was all she could say. Her eyes surveyed him. He bore no Umbrella motif on his clothing, but it was pretty clear he worked for them. Why else would he have come after her? And why would he let her survive? Maybe she was in an Umbrella facility room right now. She looked around frantically at her surroundings to see if that was the case.  
  
“You are in abandoned apartment. This building is going to be demolished eventually.” He told her calmly and stepped around her cot. His hands were not resting on his firearm, but languidly hanging at his sides. She realized she registered as no threat to him. His red optics were facing her and no matter where he stepped, they always seemed to be focused right on her. “Consider it a favor, from one survivalist to another.” He finally said, addressing her previous question. Alexis blinked, unable to believe such a response.  
  
“I don’t understand. You shot me.” She said, a bit annoyed and strained, she was still in pain.  
  
“EMS is on the way to pick you up to take you to the hospital.” He said flatly. “My advice is to stop your infiltration attempts, Miss Glade. What can you possibly achieve by doing this other than an early grave?” He asked her. Her brain felt frazzled and she could barely keep her wits about her. She had a little bit of energy to quip with him, and so she did.  
  
“I don’t have to explain myself to some Umbrella lap dog. I don’t know what you’re playing at and I don’t care.” Alexis said sharply and coughed from the dryness in her mouth. She felt terrible and not being able to make her current situation make sense wasn’t helping. The sirens of an ambulance came into both of their ear shots. The gas mask figure canted his head to the side.  
  
“Take care Miss Glade. Know this, if we do meet again, be prepared for a fight. My orders are to take you alive or dead and next time I plan to fulfil them. Take this chance and pray we don’t meet again.” He said coldly. He exited the cot room, while leaving the door open. She felt herself getting woozy again. Her bleeding had stopped, but she needed medical attention. The last thing she remembered was some paramedics entering the cot room and then she blacked out again. 

__Hunk stood in the empty industrial lot of a warehouse that had long sat unused. Dark night surrounded him, and the faint sounds of a city asleep echoed all around him. A passing car here and there, a raccoon knocking over a trash can and a few homeless people rustling around in their makeshift sleep spaces. He admired homeless people. They knew how to survive with barely anything. He heard the approaching sound of his extraction helicopter coming to fetch him. He had never failed a mission in his life. Not once. While the parameters of this mission were technically failed, he didn’t feel that way in the slightest. His personal objective was to truly see what kind of person Alexis Glade was. Rarely do you meet young adults with that kind of fighting spirit. She reminded him of himself, in a way that was pleasant to him. He didn’t want to hand her over to Umbrella, at least not yet. He wanted to see more of what she was made of. His goal of protecting her was a mission success. He started to feel like he had gone crazy, but at the same time it didn’t feel like any less of the right thing to do for him. He didn’t fear reporting the mission failed and it was a strange feeling, for he had nothing to compare it to. It was a first for him. The chopper started to come into view and he looked up at it, wondering If Alexis Glade was going to heal in the hospital without any complications. He hadn’t thought twice about shooting her, but when he had gotten to see the whites of her eyes, he had felt differently. The chopper was hovering over him now and a rope ladder was kicked over the edge. He latched onto it and the chopper started to ascend again. He climbed up slowly, thinking about what he would say, for he knew this was going to be an awkward cock pit ride. He actually welcomed the feeling, for it was different to everything he normally experienced. He climbed inside the cockpit and settled into a resting, seated position. His pilot said nothing, and the two sat in silence as they flew back towards the Providence facility._ _

Sixteen hours later, Alexis Glade stepped out of the hospital lobby as a new day was breaking. Discharged from the intensive care unit with orders to stay off her calf for six weeks. She had a physical therapy script in her hand but she didn’t think she was going to need it. Her calf was in a cast, for it felt weak and needed support. She had been lucky. The bullet went clean through, and minor surgery was all she needed to fix some pierced tissue. A blood transfusion was needed as well, and they successfully got it to her in time. Of course, they asked what caused the gun shot and she made up some lie that she shot herself on accident and a good Samaritan called an ambulance for her. She couldn’t tell them what she was really up to. She had a feeling Umbrella already knew who she was, but she was able to evade them so far and she wanted to keep it that way. She needed to get back to her safe spot and ruminate over everything that had happened. She also needed to get hidden because she was in no condition to fight properly, considering she didn’t even have a fire arm on her anymore. She reached her hand out for a taxi and one pulled up next to her. She had gotten lucky but she figured she would not be blessed with such luck again. She asked for the Providence Amtrack station and off they went. She looked out the window. She wouldn’t be coming back here anytime soon as it was too dangerous to show her face.  
  
  
_or anywhere for that matter _She thought to herself. She leaned her back and let the lull of the car calm her as she thought about her next moves.__


	3. Death Domicile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk is deployed to deal with a rural problem and threat to the company. However, he discovers on his mission none other than Alexis Glade and that she had gotten tangled with the very threat he was sent to handle.

Hunk crouched against a dilapidated barn door with night vision binoculars pressed against his mask optics. Before him was a stack of hay. It provided him cover as he surveyed the vast expanse of the field that stretched all around him and the barn. Lunar light bathed his surroundings in clarity. He could see a semi-industrial complex in the distance. It looked like a cross between a farm and construction site. He lowered his binoculars. He had quite the task ahead of him, but he was excited for it none the less. Umbrella experienced a cyber breach five days ago. Someone had hacked into research database and several experiment files had been viewed remotely. The hacker wasn’t very good, for they left a trace and Umbrella cyber security professionals had tracked it to this general vicinity, where he was now. Intel suggested one man lived here. An outcast that sells scrap metal and other bric-a-brac for a living. However, there was more to the story. Out here in the middle of Kansas, farmers have reported their livestock going missing despite no predatory animals for miles. The locals believe the outcast has something to do with it, but there is no proof presently to back up the accusation. His boss postulated that the files stolen were about animals and their relationship to the T virus, so it wasn’t hard to dictate what was happening. Some whacko was probably trying to recreate viral agents and test them on livestock. 

Hunk’s orders were to destroy all evidence of Umbrella at this Complex and take out the outcast if necessary. His boss had delivered a slight jab saying to not let the target escape when he had received his mission parameters. Alexis Glade was still afoot, and while they would be monitoring and preparing for her next break in, this new development needed to be handled immediately. Hunk didn’t feel the slightest bit of inadequacy when he had to report that he failed to capture Alexis Glade. The security head didn’t believe it at first, but when there was no physical Alexis Glade to deliver, the conversation had taken an uncomfortable turn. Not for Hunk though, but his boss. There wasn’t much to say about the matter outside of the fact she was still at large, but Hunk knew the conversation wasn’t over about her. That conversation was yet to be had because he had a crazy farmer to handle first. 

Hunk advanced through the field towards the complex. If he had to guess he would also agree with his boss’s predictions, this was a case of a whack job trying to experiment on farm animals. This would not be the first time or last that someone or a group of people would try to emulate Umbrella. They probably had a working knowledge of chemistry and bio-engineering and wanted to test their hand at it. When he reached the outer perimeter of the complex, he took cover behind a tractor. The complex had house, another barn, a cement mixer, a tractor, and what appeared to be a large quarry. The perimeter was a weak, wooden fence that had broken openings, of which he capitalized off of to get inside. There was a single light on in the home, but he was more interested in the barn. The barn he was hiding out at it previously was abandoned, but he figured this new one on the complex might have the livestock that had went missing. He decided to stealthy make his way into the barn to verify its contents. 

Upon arrival, he slowly slid the barn door open to a crack. He peaked inside only to be met with darkness, that was slightly illuminated now from the moonlight he invited into it. Cautiously, he widened the door and raised his sub machine gun, pointing towards the darkness. His forefinger brushed the trigger gently, and he side stepped slowly into the barn space. Trigger discipline in his line of work was a past time, for almost all his targets were going to be hostile. No surprise to him when he came upon the first stall, he found a horse pacing its stall. It seemed perturbed and distressed and Hunk looked at it for a few moments, unsure what the problem was. He progressed to the next stall and there was a pig laying down with its back to Hunk. The pig was not moving, and Hunk could not tell if it was dead or asleep. Hunk progressed to the third stall and there was a cow in it, or what used to be a cow. It was a sad sight. The cow’s skin looked cut to ribbons and its face was strained and bloodthirsty. When the cow saw Hunk, it charged towards the front of its stall, but only harmed itself in the process. It wanted to get a hold of him, Hunk could tell on its sickly face. What ever had happened to this cow, it wasn’t natural. Cows ate grass, but for some reason wanted to snarl at him. Hunk felt like shooting it to put it out of its misery, but he didn’t want to alert the complex he was here. He moved on to the fourth stall. He came across a human laying on a bed of hay. It was a woman, and they were asleep. He reached for the stall door and unlocked it and slowly pushed it open. Finding a random woman in the hay was not something he expected to find, but he knew he had to check it out. Was she a zombie? He would soon know. As he approached closer, he noticed that he knew this woman from somewhere. There, passed out on the hay, was none other than Alexis Glade. Her features were unmistakably her, the way her blonde hair trussed around her striking face. She was dressed in casual civilian clothing that comprised of jeans, a t-shirt and converse shoes. She was just laying there, her chest rising and falling gently in sleep. 

He stood there transfixed. He wasn’t sure why she was here and he wondered if this might be a set-up from security headquarters to see what he would do. It was highly unlikely but not entirely impossible. They had not been able to find her since he purposefully botched the mission so he doubted it. He stepped slowly into the stall and he noticed she had twitched softly. She let out a groan that sounded like discomfort. He watched her arm languidly raise her hand up to her neck to brush at an agitated, reddish bump on her skin. Her arm then fell like a heavy rock, plopping loudly onto the hay that served as her resting place. Hunk leaned in to get a closer look, and it appeared she had been punctured with something, a needle or spider bite. She twitched again and Hunk reached out and grabbed her shoulder and started to shake her gently. She slowly opened her eyes, and he watched the pupils widen with growing concern. He reached his gloved hand out and covered her mouth, anticipating a scream. She protested with an angry muffle but he quietly, yet firmly told her to be quiet and to answer his questions with a yes or no nod. She had stopped and had reached her hands up to his wrist, but he barely felt any threatening pressure from her. Hunk, having seen it all by now, guessed the scientist on site had drugged her but he had to do his due diligence and ask some triage questions of the situation.

“Did you come alone?” He asked her, the timbre of his voice adding to the ambiance to the still stall and shuffling of the near by animals. Alexis Glade nodded yes. 

“Is there a man here on site?” She nodded again.

“Did he do something to you?” Once again, she nodded yes. 

Hunk pressed his hand a little harder on her mouth and leaned down to give her a very clear directive. For a small moment, he felt tingly from doing that to her, but the moment quickly passed.

"I am here to address the problems this man has caused covertly. If you blow that opportunity, I will have to neutralize you. Do you understand?” He asked her, and she nodded once more. He slowly released his hand from her mouth.

“Now, quietly and quickly, tell me what happened”

*******

Alexis greedily drank the water from his canteen. He had produced it the moment he had asked her what was going on. She honestly didn’t know where to start and she was super bewildered to see this Masked hunter again along her travels. She felt the cool liquid sate her dry throat and gums, and she just wanted to savor the healing moment. She closed her eyes and gripped at her head. The farmer on site had definitely drugged her with something, but what it was, she had no idea. After a few more gulps of refreshing water, she handed the canteen back to him. She couldn’t believe this masked man who had shot her during their last rendezvous was here. It was a bizarre coincidence and she had never run into the same Umbrella employee twice. She wanted to bring up that he said he was going to end her life next time they met, but she didn’t want to encourage it. She felt like there was no reason to not be honest about with what brought her here. If it was a set up, then he would already know anyways. 

Alexis relied on message board forums to communicate with clandestine characters that are involved with bringing Umbrella down. These characters range in goals and personality. Some want to see the company destroyed for what they did in Raccoon city, others wanted to take it over and redirect. Alexis had met a character on there that said he personally knew Umbrella scientists and listed their names on the forum chat. Trevor Glade was one of the names listed. Alexis had contacted him and asked in what capacity did he knew Trevor Glade, and the man said he would only say in person. Alexis decided to meet this individual at the proposed coordinates, but when she got on site, there was no one around. She got ambushed shortly after, on the porch of the house, by an assailant from behind. They had stabbed her neck with something and before she knew it, her world had gone black. The only thing she registered before passing out was that it was a man that had grabbed her. 

She looked at his peerless red optics, curious about how much she should tell him. She didn’t want to mention the forum boards online, for they were too precious of a tool. She decided she would weave a lie into the truth, and sell it that way. 

“I came here because I heard this man knew my father. I thought he might know some things concerning my father’s murder. The problem is when I showed up, I was attacked. I don’t remember much. I just know a man grabbed me and injected something into my neck.” She said firmly and watched him to see if he would buy it. Of course, with his face being covered, it would be hard to determine if he did or not. She watched him shift ever so slightly and canted his head to the side.

“That would put us in a bit of an impasse Miss Glade. I am here to get rid of him if need be. How sure are you that who knows what you are seeking?” She felt his question dig at her a little bit. It was almost jeering, because he could probably find out more about her father than this random man that she knew nothing about. She felt some slight anger welling up inside. She decided to stand up and maybe even walk out of the barn. The moment she stood up, she felt a bit woozy and started to topple forward. When she did, she felt him catch her. His hands gripped her upper arms. For a moment, they just stood there.

“I don’t think you are in a position to move right now. If I had to guess, he tranquilized you.” She heard him say and he gently sat her down back on the hay. Alexis felt her head spinning, unsure of what to say. He held out his canteen again to her.

“Just take it.” She slowly reached out for it and accepted it reluctantly. She drank the remainder and stared hard at the floor.

“You’re going to go kill this guy? Why? Is it because I want to talk him? Is that it?” Alexis felt like Umbrella was just trying to play games with her now and keep her from learning the truth about her father. She looked up angrily.

“It’s classified why I am here and honestly it doesn’t seem like he wants to talk with you.” He said curtly while motioning his free hand towards her neck. He started to step back and added “But I can tell you why I am here has nothing to do with you. I’m surprised you are even here but…I would not be here when I get back.” He said. He was walking away from her now, but she didn’t have the energy to follow him. She knew he said that because he had to deliver her to Umbrella, but she had no idea why he gave her a heads up. Again, he was helping her with no obvious onus. She sunk back in the hay, not sure what to say or think. His footsteps got softer as he got further away. She knew if she could rest just a bit more, she could escape the compound. The problem was she didn’t want to leave empty handed. What could this crazy farm man possibly know about her father and how can she find that out safely were the thoughts that occupied her. 

Hunk crept into the house through a side window of a bedroom. Inside truly looked like the beginning of a horror movie scene. All the markers of life and an inhabitant were present in the house, but the occupant was no where to be seen. On top of that, the home’s decorations were bizarre and unsettling. Poor taste in taxidermy lined the hallways and rooms as props. Books on taxonomy, mummification and forensic anthropology stuck out to him as he silently passed a bookshelf. The television was on in the living room, but it was tuned very weakly to the weather channel. Hunk could barely hear the weather updates over the fuzzy static noises emanating from the room. He made it into the kitchen, and kind of wished he hadn’t. The scene of the kitchen was not appetizing nor welcoming in the slightest. Animal parts, hide still intact, sat on blocks of ice on the kitchen counters. It appeared parts of a cow, horse, pig and even a dog were present. Runny, reddish water was dripping onto the wooden floor from the ice block slowly melting. Hunk was starting to wonder if there was more to this hack than intel suggested, but he knew that really didn’t make a difference one way or the other. His mission parameters still remained the same regardless. He hoped he was going slow enough, partially for his safety and the other to buy Miss Glade time to escape the premises so he wouldn’t have to run into her again. He hoped she would take special care to not be seen by anyone on her way out, or he might have some unpleasant questions to deal with after he was done here. 

There was a door open in the kitchen. Hunk peered through it to see it revealed a staircase to the basement below. He almost wanted to chuckle to himself aloud, for the progression of events was rather typical and it seemed life was imitating macabre art for this occupant. Again, he reminded himself that the alarming visuals did not matter, only the end results of the mission. He slowly stepped onto the first stair, and noticed a slight creak from the pressure of his boot. He paused to listen to any noise from below. Nothing seemed to take notice of him, or gave away that they were alerted to his presence, so he continued to descend, his weapon trained and ready to go. Hunk maintained this descension method until he reached the bottom. When he made it to the basement floor, his surroundings were unsurprising and yet jarring at the same time. It looked like a computer lab mixed with a butcher shop. Although he was well insulated, he could tell the basement floor had some kind of artificial cooling, for he could visibly see cold air coming out of floor vents. There was an examination table to his left, with splotches of dried blood, no doubt from an abused animal. He shifted his focus to the computers in front of him. They were likely used to hack and view Umbrella research files. He could physically break the computers by inflicting so much damage on the hardware that it would be impossible to view anything saved, or he could try to hack into it himself and view what was stolen quietly. While he was ruminating over the best course of action, he did not notice that someone else had entered the basement. It wasn’t until they were right behind Hunk did he become aware. When he turned around with rapid fire gun trained at mid-level, he was met with a heavy crow bar smacking him across his masked face. 

Alexis gently turned the knob to the door of the house. She had decided that she was going to give it one last shot. While she took risks all the time, it was always with the promise of obtaining some kind of payout. She had come all this way and got knocked out by a tranquilizer and was still alive and kicking, so she goaded herself to at least try one more time before leaving. She stepped inside a hallway that was instantly creepy. Dead eyes of numerous wild animals greeted her as the door softly shut behind her. Television static from the next room over served as the only ambiance in the still hallway. She felt her heart flutter at the visuals, as they were not exactly calming to the onlooker. Before she could decide what room to venture off into first, she heard noises coming from what appeared to be the entryway of a kitchen. It sounded like a man grunting in a pain and scuffling of boots on a cement floor. It sounded like a fight. Alexis quickly and quietly shuffled tip toed into the kitchen and heard the noises getting closer as she neared an open door into a basement. No doubt in her mind that the masked man who helped her and her assailant were both down there. She hesitated at the entrance, knowing that he instructed her to not let herself be seen by him again, but she also needed the information she came her to find. She descended down the stairs to see that she had thought right. Gas mask man and some tall, thin, toned and incredibly pallid man were grappling on the cement floor, with the latter on top. Alexis sprinted forward and hiked her right let up to deliver a hard-front kick to the pallid man’s back. Her kick landed and he let out a yelp as he toppled over, losing his balance and top advantage of the wrestling match. Alexis backed up and watched Gas Mask slide underneath him and hop up. His weapon was missing, but he unsheathed a long, sharp combat style knife and was holding it out towards his opponent. Alexis noticed he placed himself in between herself and that whacked out farmer. He stood up laughing, clutching at his blood-stained apron that Alexis could guess was the fluids of unwilling animals. 

“Ah you’re awake Miss Glade. I guess I should have used a stronger dose on you. I also didn’t know you were bringing a friend; you could have at least mentioned that on the message boards.” He sneered. His eyes were tired with heavy circles under them. Despite being on farm, she could tell he limited his time in the sun. She really wished he hadn’t mentioned the message boards just now. Alexis was convinced that Umbrella didn’t know about them and here an Umbrella security operative just heard their existence announced out loud. The pallid farmer straightened up, keeping his sunken eyes on them.

“Back in the day, your daddy wanted to start his own lab, with a primary interest in healing sick livestock with viruses. He knew me, through a friend of a friend, and approached me with the idea since I’ve been farming these parts most of my life. Thing was, I didn’t really care about what your daddy wanted to do. I just wanted to experiment on animals and create nice specimens. And I figured why not use some Umbrella lab jock to set me up. Problem was your daddy didn’t keep his head down, and old bastard got himself killed, leaving you behind. Now here ya are. I was gonna make a nice doll out of you to remember it all by”

Alexis was so put off from his story, her blood starting to boil, that she didn’t notice that he had something in his hand. He had apparently picked up Gas Mask’s weapon at some point during his distracting expose. It seemed Gas mask hadn’t noticed earlier, but the sudden movement next to her suggested he was aware of it now and ready to do something about it. The knife went flying, straight for the farmer’s upper torso. Everything was happening so fast. The gun erupted, sending bullets their way. Alexis leaped to the side to take cover behind the staircase. Flashes of sparks illuminated the dimly lit basement. When she had made it to her cover, she looked up to see Gas Mask was wrestling the gun out of the crazed farmer’s hands. Alexis, not wanting to get shot, kept her distance while her eyes darted around the room, looking for something useful to aid the scramble. She spotted a crow bar on the floor, not far from where the two were fighting. She sprinted towards the crow bar and collected it with ease. Without wasting any time, she promptly took three meaningful steps towards the pallid farmer and raised the crowbar high above him. The pallid farmer was doing his best to hold onto the gun and fire off some more shots, but Gas mask was over powering him. Alexis held it up threateningly and the farmer stopped his struggle against Gas mask. He let go and Gas mask ripped it from his hands. Gas Mask got up and ordered the whacko, who never told her his name, to get up.

“You know, I really don’t wanna take orders from a company lap dog. Now that you’re here, looks like my little game is over. “He said, which felt very foreboding to Alexis. Somehow the computers all turned off and then red screened. A faint alarm could be heard, coming from the barn nearby. “See yall in Hell.” He said and smirked a giant smirk, like he knew a delicious secret that they didn’t. Before Alexis could question him, she felt Gas Mark grabbing her elbow strongly and yanking her up the stairs. His hurriedness to get her up the stairs registered with her that the farmer had activated some sort of protocol without them knowing and that they needed to get out of range whatever that protocol was. They made to the uncomely kitchen, dashed through the creepy hallway and burst out through the front door. As they were descending down the porch, it happened.  
Heat licked her back, and a strong force lifted her off her feet and sent her and gas mask flying. A loud noise split her ears and echoed all around her. It was unmistakably an explosion. They landed on a dirt pile and some hay. It partially cushioned their impact, but it knocked the breath out of her. Alexis sat up, clutching her side that was most definitely now bruised. The house was on fire, as well as the barn, some sheds and a few auxiliary, mechanical edifices. She looked over at Gas Mask, who was rousing to his feet. He stood up and looked down at her and held out his hand to her. In the ambiance of the smoke, fire and heat all around them, Alexis was still unsure why he was helping her. She stared at his hand and started to reach out for it. However, his hand fell away. He was falling down. He fell onto his back. Alexis skidded her body over to him and noticed he had been shot. He had been shot in his right arm and left thigh. She finally looked down and was able to see a small speckles of blood have dripped all around him. 

“You're bleeding.” She said loudly, over the noise of the fire.

“I know” He grunted and started to sit up. “There is an cabin up the way from here. It didn’t look like anyone was home. I need to get to it.”

He started to stand up, but swayed to the side. Alexis instinctively grabbed his left arm and draped it over her back and shoulder, and she reached her other hand around his waist. The two didn’t speak. They set a pace and walked away from the burning complex, slow but surely. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was going to do next, but getting him to the aforementioned cabin was a start.


End file.
